Don't know if anyone else has experience using Cocoon (https://getcocoon.com/) as an add-on to IE or Firefox. It's supposedly a free "plugin that makes everything you do online secure, virus-free and private."

Well I took a chance and now I regret it!!!

I registered at Cocoon earlier this week using an email address I normally reserve for personal use, eg, I use this address to send messages to myself and to bcc myself on certain outgoing emails.

Unfortunately, since signing up for Cocoon, I've been bombarded with obnoxious porno spam. I've had that email address for ~5 years and never before gotten even a single piece of spam in that mailbox. While I can't prove Cocoon intentionally -or otherwise- shared my email address with anyone, it's very suspicious and highly coincidental that spam started arriving immediately after I signed up. Guess I'll have to disable that email account and create a new one.

I sent a message to Cocoon with my complaint but -so far- there's been no response.

Bottom line: USE COCOON AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND DON'T GIVE THEM YOUR PRIMARY EMAIL ADDRESS!!!

At Cocoon's request I ran thorough malware scans. I used Malwarebytes, Microsoft Security Essentials, and Spybot, all with latest signature updates. All scans were negative.

Also ran ShieldsUp! at grc.com to test the ZoneAlarm (free) firewall. All ports on my system are hidden and no packets were sent out when ShieldsUp! tried to ping my system. So I think it's fair to say that my system is clean and secure.

Since disabling the Cocoon Add-On for IE last Tues, I haven't received a single additional spam message (porn or otherwise) at the address in question. There could be several explanations for this, including:

1. My ISP's filters may have identifed the porno as spam and are now blocking it before it reaches my inbox.2. I disabled Cocoon and haven't logged into their service since last Tues. 3. It was an entirely coincidental 'drive-by' spam attack.

There may be other explanations too. My ISP is rather obscure, so I don't think this can be blamed on spam being sent to randomly generated email addresses at @my ISP, like it might happen if this were a yahoo or hotmail account.

Cocoon asked for copies of the porno spam ( ), but I'd already deleted all of it and emptied the trash, so I couldn't provide any for their investigation.

I'm rather reluctant to test #2 (above) by re-enabling their Add-On and logging into their service to see if that triggers another round of spam. So I don't know how much further Cocoon or I can take this. Cocoon did take my complaint seriously so I can't fault them for their concern or efforts.

Everyone here should evaluate the risks of using Cocoon for themselves. Perhaps, if someone has an unused, disposable email address and is willing to invest some effort, that might be the way to see if using their service leads to a spam attack, porno or otherwise.

I would think logging back onto their system shouldn't be a problem. You know about the suspected problem and are ready for it. But I understand your hesitation. Do you know if they have had any other reports of this same issue?

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Consumer Security

If I am helping you and you don't hear from me for 24Hrs, send me a PM Please!

If you like I can hook you up with a disposable e-mail address. Then once you are done, I will kill it. That way everything else will be the same. That might be important if they need to troubleshoot further.

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Consumer Security

If I am helping you and you don't hear from me for 24Hrs, send me a PM Please!

I have sent you a PM with the info. Give it a half hour to make all the changes in the server then you should be able to use it. If you want any of it change so it will work better with what you use, just let me know. Once you have done troubleshooting it let me know and I will smash it flat and it will cease to exist.

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Consumer Security

If I am helping you and you don't hear from me for 24Hrs, send me a PM Please!